Our Mary in Queen role
Tassie princess to be royal stand-in
TASMANIAN- BORN Princess Mary of Denmark is a step closer to becoming Queen.
The Crown Princess has been tasked with backing up Queen Margrethe when she is abroad on engagements, as the palace shifts responsibilities to the next generation of royals.
An official statement, released early yesterday, confirms Mary will be given the right to act as regent.
Queen Margrethe, 79, signed a declaration to make it official, with a picture posted to the Danish Royal’s Instagram page.
“As regent, The Crown Princess will, from now on, be able to attend to The Queen’s duties as head of state when The Queen is prevented from doing so, for example during a stay abroad,” the Danish Royal House said in a statement.
Mary, 47, joins her husband Crown Prince Frederik, 51, and her relatives Prince Joachim and Princess Benedikte as official backups.
“Today, The Queen’s duties can be handled by The Crown Prince as regent or by Their Royal Highnesses P r in ce Joachim and Princess Benedikte as regents,” the Dan i sh Royal House added. Mary, who worked in real estate and advertising before meeting the future king of Denmark in a pub in Sydney in 2000, has been taking on an increased royal workload and public profile as her motherin-law ages.
Queen Margrethe has previously said she will not abdicate, telling the Danish media: “I will remain on the throne until I fall off”.
While Frederik — a former military man and Olympic sailor — will become King when his mother dies, Mary can never rule Denmark officially.
Her title as wife of the king will officially be Mary, Queen Consort of Denmark, although she will be known colloquially as Queen Mary.
Mary and Frederik’s children have also been stepping out of the shadows and into public life.
Heir-to-the-throne Prince Christian, 13, Princess Isabella, 12, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 8, are making semi-regular appearances with their parents as they go about their lives as fulltime working royals.
Queen Margrethe
But only Christian will go on to become a full-time working royal, with the Danish parliament deciding to cut out funding to the other grandchildren of Queen Margrethe.
Only Christian, as heir and future king, will receive a state salary for his royal duties once he turns 18.
The others — like most people in this world — will have to find jobs.
Mary has sought to give the children as normal a life as possible. They all attend the Tranegard School in Copenhagen, the first Danish royal children to attend a public school.